Wednesday, August 6, 2014

The Space Agency on Market Square Records

Market Square Records is run by psych fan and ambassador, Paul Messis. It's no surprise Paul would have up and started his own label to release more of this '60s garage psych he's been masterfully creating himself and this trio, The Space Agency out of Brighton are composing pitch perfect instrumental soundtracks to movies that were never made.

A-Side's "Bombay Potatoes" opens on wind chimes and layers like individual leaves of an electric sitar. Updating that electronic eastern influenced sound of the '60s that was co-opted by every garage band once they got deep out of their relationships and pop love phase to end up in this sort of place. Imagine that sound in a restrained miniature way; inside a tiny diorama of the Taj Mahal this is playing while a tiny disco ball out of tin foil on the end of a toothpick is turning, the wires running up to an AA battery. It's all delicately crafted from the warp of the strings to this gong strike, evenly breaking up measures like individual or snowflakes. The little pieces on their own are quiet and introspective but getting together tike this all of a sudden you have to step back to see that bigger picture that's too much to absorb. This always feels like it's just fading off down the street out of reach. That carnival is moving away and you just can't quite catch it's pop '60s sound where those traditional structures have been westernized.

B-Side's "Purple Power" nails the '60s garage drum sound with tight reverb while the string section crashes that surf sound in the familiar changes of Wipeout. The clicks of a loud pickup and treble heavy pattern with everyone playing rhythm basically. Double up the snare and a lower muted string baseline emerges out of a Rickenbacker. A psych surf sound like the Tiki Men - after dark, now on land you're free to wander a bit more, the sun went down and you can't get out there in the dark anymore to hang ten - are you crazy? The track is darker symbolically and mentally or lets say introspective, this is the sound off that surf happening in the darkness. There's waves and everything but we'll just have to wait for the sun to come up. These instrumentals are going to get you there.

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